Michael Porter agrees to 5-year, $207 million max contract extension

Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. agreed to a five-year designated max extension that could be worth up to $207 million, reports ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Nuggets locked up their rising young star, who was the No. 14 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. The 23-year-old averaged 19.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game while making over 44% of his three-pointers last season. Porter and Mikal Bridges were the only two players to make over 75% of their at-rim attempts and 40% of their threes last season (min. 100 attempts of each). 

Porter's career nearly ended before it even started, as the Los Angeles Clippers' doctor told him that he may never play again after sustaining serious back injuries and undergoing multiple spinal surgeries.

"I went through a lot, but it’s all God’s timing and I’m blessed to be in the situation I’m in. I’m blessed to even be playing in the NBA," Porter recently said on The Old Man and the Three. "I said this on draft night, but just because of them believing in me, I want to be their best draft pick ever, and I [said] I was going to work as hard as I could to become that."

Porter doesn’t hold any ill will against the teams who passed on him. In fact, he completely understands their choice because even he was scared that he might never be the same player.

"I understood it, and I don't have any bitterness toward any team because I was low-key scared myself,” Porter admitted. “Like, I didn't know if I was going to bounce back the way I wanted to either. It's been a slow process, and I still feel like I'm getting there.”

Now, Porter is one of the game's up-and-coming stars and his hard work has been rewarded with a max deal.